Grzegorz Kowalski's Archive

Grzegorz Kowalski (1942–2025) was a sculptor, performer, educator, and theorist—one of the most influential figures in Polish contemporary art. As a student of Oskar Hansen, he applied the idea of the Open Form to interpersonal relationships, treating art not as the production of objects, but as an exploration of the processes occurring between the body, the object, and another person. In his legendary studio “Kowalnia,” the attitudes of artists who permanently changed the face of Polish critical art took shape—Katarzyna Kozyra, Paweł Althamer, Artur Żmijewski, and many others.

 

The artist’s death in September 2025 has made work on his legacy particularly urgent. The presented archive is the result of the first stage of the systematic cataloging of Prof. Kowalski’s collections—a project carried out jointly by the Visual Arts Foundation, the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, and the artist’s heirs. As part of the first stage, over a thousand archival items from two key series were cataloged and digitized: Chair (1974–1975) and People / Animals (1977–1978). This phase marks the beginning of a long-term project aimed at the comprehensive cataloging and promotion of Kowalski’s body of work.

 

The project “Cataloging the Archive of Grzegorz Kowalski’s Work (Phase I) and Developing a Prototype Content Management Tool” (No. 1687/KPO. GRANTS 2025) is implemented by the Visual Arts Foundation as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Investment A2.5.1, with funding in the amount of 126,960 PLN.